Book Recs From Friends #6: Natalie of Moonstruck Reads

The resident romance reader expert

Apr 20, 2025

This is Book Recs from Friends. A series where some of my favorite book-loving people on Substack share book recommendations. Because books are always better with friends...

I'm so excited to bring you today's edition of Book Recs from Friends! We’ve got

Natalie

of
Moonstruck Reads
to share book recs with us today. She is a librarian and writer living in New York City who writes a weekly newsletter on reading romance and the romance of reading. When she's not reading or writing, you can usually find her adventuring through the Met, trying out a new bakery, or trying to befriend a local cat.

Natalie is one of the first bookish people I connected with here on Substack in early 2023, and I've been impressed by her depth of reading ever since. We have similar reading tastes in that we both love to read literary fiction, some new releases, and romance. But she reads much more widely across the romance genre, and I always head to her Substack first when I want a romance recommendation.

She thinks smartly about books, and I appreciate that she often shares niche, lesser-known titles. Seeing her name in my inbox is always a delight because I know I'm about to discover a new book I haven't heard of or think about my reading life in a new way. So, without further ado, I'll hand it over to Natalie...

Book Recs from Friends: Natalie of Moonstruck Reads

Written by

Natalie

of Moonstruck Reads

I first fell in love with historical romance before I even knew there was such a thing as historical romance. Eva Ibbotson is probably best known for her delightful middle-grade novels, but as a teenager, I was enraptured by her witty historical romances written for adults. Ibbotson herself said that she wrote for “intelligent women with the flu” and her books have been a comfort to me over and over again. My favorite is probably The Morning Gift, a slow-burn marriage of convenience romance set on the eve of World War II that’s slyly funny, compassionate, and deeply insightful about the loneliness of exile and the work of starting over.

I’ve been chasing that Ibbotson feeling ever since and the closest I’ve got is Laura Wood’s Under a Dancing Star and Diana Biller’s Hotel of Secrets. Under a Dancing Star is a YA Much Ado About Nothing retelling/prequel set in 1930’s Italy. It’s the perfect blend of escapism, with its lush descriptions of the Italian countryside, and poignancy, as it becomes clear that these characters’ summer idyll is only temporary. As befits a Much Ado retelling, the banter is wonderfully clever and Beatrice an indelible heroine.

Set in 1870’s Vienna during ball season and featuring a romance between a hotelkeeper trying to restore her family’s fortunes and an undercover Treasury agent, Hotel of Secrets is a glorious whirl of a book that includes political intrigue, gorgeous ball gowns, mystery, linen closet assignations, and an incredibly competent hero and heroine at its center. (Note that it’s quite a bit steamier than its cover suggests!) Biller has a knack for writing the most exquisite tension, an eye for sumptuous descriptions, and a fizzy wit that had me enchanted the whole way through.

I also have a soft spot for historical romances where it seems impossible for the two main characters to ever be together…and the author manages to pull it off anyway. An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole, about two undercover agents who fall for each other in the midst of danger during the Civil War, is a sweeping love story, suspenseful spy drama, and unflinching look at the dark side of American history. Elle, a spy with an eidetic memory and fierce sense of justice, is one of my all time favorite romance heroines.

Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews is a fast-paced romantic adventure that reads like a modern version of a classic 19th century novel. The romance between squire’s daughter Maggie and her penniless childhood friend Nicholas is heart-stoppingly good, the pacing breathless, and Matthews’ writing unfailingly elegant. She’s equally skilled at writing a thrilling action scene and the oh-so-meaningful brush of a gloved hand.

Finally, I’ve been pressing Cat Sebastian’s You Should Be So Lucky on every reader I know since it came out last year. A queer romance between a grieving reporter and a baseball player in the worst slump of his life, it’s a heartbreakingly hopeful slow burn, a perfect New York story, and a ferocious affirmation of its characters’ determination to carve out a life full of love and joy in a world that often refuses to acknowledge them. Historical romance has space for all kinds of stories and Sebastian’s are some of my absolute favorites.

Thanks, Natalie! I love seeing the breadth of romance you read; it always inspires me to explore more. You can connect with Natalie by subscribing to her Substack!